


I'll Build a House Inside of You

by gliese581



Category: Bandom, Jonas Brothers, The Academy Is...
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 12:31:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1106851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gliese581/pseuds/gliese581
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kevin was taking out the trash when he heard it, a low rumble, or more like a growl, coming from behind the garage</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Build a House Inside of You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chalcopyrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chalcopyrite/gifts).



> Written for the SDS Xmax Fic Exchange. Chalcopyrite asked for "found families/families of choice, people being good at what they do, happiness, maybe a little pining." I hope you like it, Chalcopyrite!

Kevin was taking out the trash when he heard it, a low rumble, or more like a growl, coming from behind the garage. He froze mid-step at the sound and his heart began to speed up when his brain caught up to the fact that it was most definitely animal in origin.

The moon was shining high in the sky, but he couldn't make out what was making the sound from where he was. Any other time, Kevin would have hightailed it back inside, but something told him to stay right where he was. He'd heard of people trying to run away from bears, only to get caught and then mauled to death. Kevin liked where his internal organs were, okay?

Something shifted in the darkness and Kevin held his breath, as if that would help him somehow. It took everything he had to keep from bolting when he saw the muzzle come into view, followed by the rest of the biggest dog Kevin had ever seen.

The dog's mouth was open, but he realized that it wasn't growling at him anymore. He could even hear it softly whining under the thundering beat of his own heart. It certainly didn't look rabid or anything, but Kevin was still at least a little worried.

Kevin let out his breath when he got a good look at the dog. It looked fed, not well, but close, and its black and gray coat was smooth and well-kept. The dog watched him, unnervingly, with dark amber eyes, as if it was searching him.

Kevin crouched down and, despite alarms going off in his head, extended a hand to the wary dog. There was no way Kevin could let the dog roam free, especially when it was obviously someone's pet. The move seemed to appease the animal, and it loped closer to sniff Kevin's outstretched hand.

"Hey, buddy, you lost?" Kevin cautiously reached up and scratched behind the dog's ears. When the dog leaned into his hand, Kevin took that as a sign that he could examine the animal more closely. "No collar, no tags."

The wind picked up and Kevin felt the dog shiver. That made up Kevin's mind and he stood up, still running a hand through the dog's rough coat. "C'mon, come inside, boy," Kevin said, voice low and calm. The dog looked up at Kevin, searching for something again, before he licked Kevin's hand as if in thanks.

Kevin just needed some excuse for his parents when they inevitably asked why he brought in a stray, but he had time; his parents were gone for the weekend with his brothers. For now, he just needed to take the dog inside.

~~~

The dog hardly made a sound when he followed Kevin inside so Kevin started calling him Ninja.

Ninja stopped short, halfway through the front door, when Elvis came bounding to see who was at the door. Elvis stopped in his tracks when he noticed Ninja being ushered into the house and he started _growling_ and advancing towards Ninja with bared teeth, something Kevin had never seen Elvis do.

Kevin managed to grab Elvis's collar before he got to Ninja and pulled him back with a chastising "No!" when Elvis started barking. Ninja looked spooked and he was halfway out the door when Kevin finally pushed Elvis into the hall bathroom. Kevin ran to the door and tried to coax Ninja to come back in.

"It's okay, buddy," Kevin said, soothingly. "That was just Elvis, he's usually not like that, I promise. C'mon."

Ninja warily came back into the house, but stuck close to Kevin as he locked the door and led Ninja to the kitchen. Ninja was probably hungry, if digging around near the trash was any indication, and Kevin grabbed two new dog bowls originally meant for Elvis and a container of wet dog food from the refrigerator.

Kevin idly scratched Ninja behind his ears as he put the items on the counter and got out the can opener. Ninja was calm as could be when Kevin dumped the food out into one of the bowls and put water in the other, telling Kevin that he was most likely a trained pet or the most polite dog in history, not a stray out of nowhere. Ninja even waited until Kevin put both bowls down on the floor and told him it was okay to eat before he touched the food.

Ninja ate his food in huge gulps and Kevin thought about giving Ninja another can, but thought better of it; feeding him too much so quickly was just asking for an accident in the middle of the night and Kevin didn't need that, thank you very much. He just washed the bowls and left them to dry on the counter.

When Kevin had Ninja safely up to his room, he went down to the hall bathroom where Elvis was sniffing and pawing at the door. Kevin cracked the door just wide enough so Elvis could poke his head out, but not the rest of his body. Kevin let Elvis sniff him and hopefully calm down a bit before he grabbed Elvis' collar -- he wasn't _stupid_ \-- and opened the door all the way.

Elvis immediately pulled at his collar, trying to sniff out where Ninja was. Kevin kept his grip on Elvis and manhandled him away from the stairs to the laundry room where Elvis slept. Kevin felt a little bad pushing Elvis inside, but he figured Elvis would calm down eventually and go to sleep or something if he was in familiar surroundings.

Ninja was lying on the floor at the foot of Kevin's bed when Kevin came in after washing up for bed. Ninja looked like he was sleeping, so Kevin quietly slipped under the covers and shut off the bedside lamp. Kevin fell asleep almost the moment his head hit his pillow.

~~~

Kevin woke up the next day almost positive that he'd dreamed up Ninja, before he sat up and saw Ninja still curled up near the foot of his bed. Kevin knew, dimly, that taking in a stray, even one that was trained like Ninja, and then letting it sleep in the same room was beyond stupid, but there was something about Ninja that made Kevin forget all that.

Ninja stretched and lifted his head up to look at Kevin when Kevin padded close to him. Still unsure, Kevin gingerly reached over and patted Ninja's head, but Ninja was just as well behaved as the night before. Kevin couldn't help a laugh from escaping him when Ninja rolled onto his back and demanded tummy scratches, which Kevin was more than happy to provide.

Elvis was still a little skittish around Ninja when Kevin let him out after he and Ninja came downstairs, but Elvis didn't look like he was going to attack Ninja, which Kevin chalked up as a win. That was one worry gone, but there was still a matter of how Kevin was going to take Ninja to work with him when he didn't have a car.

Kevin didn't want to leave Elvis and Ninja alone in the house while he was at work, but more importantly, he wanted to get Ninja checked out. Ninja didn't look sick or injured, but who knew what he'd been through or how long he'd been out in the streets.

The weather was nice, at least, so Kevin decided he could probably walk to the clinic with Ninja. All he needed was to get Ninja ready to go outside.

A spare collar and leash were easy to find and Ninja looked at him funny when Kevin brought them out, as if he was trying to figure out what Kevin was going to do with them. Ninja took off when Kevin took a step towards him and he figured out that they were meant for him. It took a few tries, Ninja was wily and _fast_ , before Kevin was finally able to cage him in the living room and slip the collar over Ninja's neck.

Ninja stared up at Kevin with betrayed eyes when he clipped on the leash, but Kevin gave him a few head scratches as an apology, which Ninja seemed to accept. 

~~~

Doctor Bob gave Kevin a funny look when he showed up to the clinic with Ninja in tow, but he checked Ninja over before they opened when Kevin asked him to.

Ninja started struggling and thrashing against Doctor Bob whenever Kevin tried to leave the room, so Kevin had to stay in the exam room, but Doctor Bob finished the exam and pronounced him healthy, if a little underfed.

"He doesn't have a microchip," Doctor Bob said, after Ninja scrambled off the exam table and crowded close to Kevin. "Which isn't a surprise. I'm pretty sure he has a few drops of wolf blood in him."

Kevin stopped petting Ninja and his head snapped up to Doctor Bob in shock. _Wolf blood?_ Doctor Bob continued almost nonchalantly, "nothing to make him dangerous. It probably got mixed in a few generations back."

Kevin looked down at Ninja when he headbutted Kevin's hand, as if asking Kevin why he stopped petting him. Kevin could see bits of wolf in Ninja now that he looked closer, but any fear Kevin might have felt left when Ninja licked his hands and looked up at him. Still, Kevin was surprised it took him so long to notice Ninja's wolf-like features; he was usually great with animals.

"You can keep him by your desk, but make sure he doesn't wander off," Doctor Bob said, snapping his gloves off and left the room.

Frank was already on his second cup of coffee when Kevin got to his desk out in reception. Kevin worked part-time at the clinic and he usually just answered the phone. Frank was the one who did most of the actual paperwork. Frank was pretty good at his job because no one really wanted to argue with him.

Frank's jaw dropped when he saw Ninja. "Whoa, that's a big-ass dog, Kevin!"

A patient came in and interrupted whatever Kevin wanted to say to that. As if he understood what Frank had said, Ninja wuffled before settling next to Kevin's desk. 

~~~

Ninja turned out to be a surprisingly good lap warmer. He climbed onto the sofa with Kevin and curled halfway onto Kevin's lap. Kevin absently ran a hand through Ninja's fur as he watched a movie on TV.

The movie wasn't all that good and Kevin didn't even bother watching until the end before he turned off the TV and nudged Ninja off his lap. Ninja made a disgruntled sound for being forced to move, but he grudgingly moved off of Kevin.

Kevin made sure Elvis was settled in the laundry room before he shut off the lights and headed up the stairs to his room, Ninja in tow.

The guitar was safely hidden at the back of Kevin's closet, safe from prying eyes. It was scratched and scuffed after years of rough treatment, but Kevin had bought it with his own money and it was perfect.

The guitar was heavy in Kevin's hands, but something lifted from his shoulders whenever he held it in his hands. His hands moved as if by their own accord to tune it and he strummed out a few chords. Ninja watched Kevin intently from where he has sitting, waiting for Kevin to continue, which was stupid because Ninja was a dog.

Kevin ran through the songs he could play, trying to find one he was comfortable playing. He picked the first song he'd learned how to play, a song he could play by heart. Ninja's ears immediately perked up when Kevin started playing.

Kevin fell into the rhythm of the song and he couldn't help but close his eyes as he started to sing. Kevin knew his voice probably wasn't the best for singing, but that became a distant concern when his hands were on the guitar; he loved the feeling of music flowing through him.

Kevin opened his eyes as he finished the song and he saw Ninja had moved closer when he'd been playing. Ninja nudged Kevin's knee, as if asking for another song, and Kevin couldn't deny him the request.

"How about something I've been working on, Ninja?" Kevin asked. "Would you like that, boy?

Ninja barked, like he was telling Kevin to put out or get out, and it brought a smile to Kevin's mouth.

The song was just something Kevin had been tossing around in his head, only playing little bits of it whenever he had time alone. It was far from polished, but each time Kevin played the song, he got closer and closer to the song he heard in his head.

There was something intimate about playing the song for someone for the first time, even if it was just to a dog. Kevin swallowed back his nerves and started playing.

Kevin played better than he'd ever had before, and even though Kevin still had to improvise when he got to the end, he didn't stumble when he got to the bridge he'd been trying to play correctly for months.

The clock out in the hall pulled Kevin out of the song when it chimed midnight. Ninja whined when Kevin put his guitar down, but he quieted down when Kevin scratched behind his ears. Kevin sighed when the weight come back down on his shoulders, and he suddenly didn't have the desire to play anymore.

Kevin put the guitar back into his closet and closed the door.

~~~

Kevin spent Sunday putting up signs all across town with Ninja's description and his contact information. He didn't find any missing dog flyers around, but it felt dishonest if he didn't at least try looking for Ninja's owners, even if part of Kevin didn't want them to show up, just so he could spend more time with Ninja.

It felt nice having _something_ of his own; something he didn't have to share with his brothers. Kevin loved his brothers something fierce and he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, but it was hard sometimes to not want some space of his own or something that was just his. Elvis was great, but he was unquestionably Nick's dog. Ninja was Kevin's dog for as long as Kevin had him.

~~~

Kevin woke up to find a guy, a very _shirtless_ guy, asleep next to him on his bed. He barely suppressed a shocked yelp and scrambled away from the figure. Kevin's _totally manly sound of surprise_ and mad scramble woke up the guy, who blinked at him with a half-asleep look on his face.

The guy's eyes flashed in surprise and he too bolted up to a sitting position. The sudden movement caused the comforter, _his_ comforter, to slip off the stranger's body and Kevin numbly realized the guy wasn't just shirtless, he was _completely naked_. There was a naked stranger in his bed.

The guy was probably a crazy axe murderer who slipped naked into peoples' beds before they killed them. Kevin was going to die.

"Fuck, of all the times, it had to be now," the guy muttered. He looked at Kevin with a look, as if he knew Kevin was not-so-stealthily freaking out. "Look, I'm your dog, Ninja."

The monologue about axe murderers in Kevin's brain screeched to a halt and Kevin blinked at him from where he was plastered to the far wall, just shock giving way to shock and disbelief. "Pardon?"

"I'm Ninja," the guy, who was obviously not Ninja, said slowly, as if what he was saying made sense.

Kevin swallowed; not only was the guy naked, he was crazy. "I... I think you should tell me where my dog is and leave." Kevin's heart was still pounding, but he didn't stutter.

The guy ran a hand through his hair. "Your name is Kevin Jonas and you work at Lovejoys Veterinary Clinic," the guy said, fixing Kevin in place with an intense stare. "You like butter in your popcorn, but not salt. You play the guitar like you've had years of practice, but you keep it a secret. I know all this because _I'm Ninja_."

They stared at each other, before Kevin found his voice. "Please, just... just go."

The naked guy didn't move. "Kev-"

"Get out!" Kevin yelled.

The naked guy disappeared and Kevin slowly looked down to see Ninja staring up at him from where the guy had been. Before Kevin could even breathe, Ninja bolted to the open window and jumped out.

Kevin was at the window in an instant, but all he saw was Ninja tearing away from the house before he disappeared into the treeline beyond the yard.

~~~

Ninja didn't show up the next day.

~~~

Or the next.

~~~

Doctor Bob was talking to someone out at the front desk when Kevin turned off the lights in the changing room and stepped out. Kevin was just going to slip by, but he froze when he saw Doctor Bob was talking to werewolf guy. Werewolf guy saw him too, and they just stared at each other.

Werewolf guy looked different, but that might have been because he wasn't naked or sitting on Kevin's bed.

Doctor Bob thankfully broke the awkward silence. "Do you guys know each other?"

"We've, uh, met. Once." Kevin said, eyes darting from werewolf guy to Doctor Bob.

Doctor Bob shot Kevin a look that said they were so talking about it later. "Well, he's the new intern."

"Hey," werewolf guy said, not even blinking.

Kevin paused awkwardly before he stuttered, "Well, I'm gonna go home now."

Doctor Bob waved a hand at Kevin, clearly dismissing him, before Doctor Bob turning towards werewolf guy. "You'll need to be here early tomorrow so someone can show you where your office is and the rest."

Kevin didn't exactly run straight for the door, but it was a close thing. All he heard before the door closed behind him was werewolf guy answering Doctor Bob with a low, "That's fine."

Kevin wished he'd asked his parents for the car, especially when he heard the clinic door open and close behind him; Kevin really didn't want to deal with the entire Ninja, _naked guy in his bed_ thing. He resolved to ignore werewolf guy even though Kevin felt werewolf guy's gaze.

Kevin made it only two steps before he cracked. "Look, if you're going to follow me, can you at least do it where I can see you?" Kevin asked.

Kevin let out a sigh of relief when werewolf guy stepped in front of him. 

Werewolf guy was absolutely silent as they started walking again, but Kevin couldn't help but look sideways at him. Werewolf guy was hunched over a little, hands jammed into the pockets of his hoodie, making the material bulge out, but he didn't look like he was planning on doing anything bad to Kevin.

"Okay, look, werewolf guy," Kevin blurted out when the silence got to him. "What's up with your _thing_?"

Kevin turned red when he realized he'd called the guy 'werewolf guy' out loud. Kevin turned even redder when werewolf guy raised an eyebrow.

"First," werewolf guy said, before pointing to himself. "My name is Mike, not werewolf guy. Second, I'm pretty sure _werewolf guy_ covers everything."

There was an awkward pause as Kevin processed that.

"Look, kid," Mike said. "I don't want to make things weird."

"I think it's a little too late for that when you were in my bed, naked," Kevin said.

Mike ran a hand over his face. "Fine, weirder than they already are. Can we just start over?"

Kevin wanted to say it has pretty much impossible to start over, not when they'd spent all their time together for three days and Mike obviously knew parts of Kevin that no one else knew about. But at the same time, Kevin wanted to get to know Mike as much as he'd grown to know Ninja. They had a connection, even if it was a weird one, and Kevin didn't want to just throw that away.

"We should do this properly, then," Kevin said, before extending his hand for Mike to shake. "I'm Kevin."

Mike gave him a rueful smile and took Kevin's hand to shake it. "I'm Mike."

~~~

 

_Epilogue_

Mike was lying half across Kevin's lap, asleep, when the movie they'd been watching ended. Kevin slowly reached over and shut off the TV without waking Mike.

Kevin was going to shake Mike awake, but he decided instead to reach over to put his hand on a patch of Mike's stomach peeking out from under his shirt. Mike was still sleeping when Kevin started lightly scratching Mike's stomach.

Kevin giggled and then let out a surprised shout when Mike started awake and they fell off the sofa together. Mike caught himself before he fell painfully on top of Kevin, but his face was really close when Kevin caught his breath.

"Really, kid?" Mike grumbled, glaring down at Kevin.

Kevin couldn't resist. "You love my tummy scratches."

"I'll show you tummy scratches," Mike said as he reached under Kevin's shirt.


End file.
